Pentax K-r

Opinion: The Pentax K-r has almost everything you want in a mid level body at an entry level price.
It's got a respectable viewfinder (pentamirror), a good buffer, extensive options and customisation, and on paper a superb overall specification.

Whilst the 12mp CMOS isn't anything amazing resolution wise it's enough for most people, and still an excellent performer in low light. Not as good as the 16mp CMOS but pretty close.
Body wise it's a slightly bigger body than the K-x making it on paper a decent step up for users and for new buyers.

Great out of camera jpegs with very good control on noise reduction. A high res 3" LCD much better than the lower res smaller ones. You can even calibrate the screen colour accuracy wise, you've an interval timer..100k shutter rating. Controls are logical and easy to grasp..the customisation is so complete you'll very rarely take a trip to the custom menus after it's set up for you.

Lots of filters and customisation of colours, hues, sharpness..if you're a jpeg shooter you'll be very happy with results out of the camera

The K-r corrects most of the weak points of the K-x, adding the lighting AF points, a more comfortable slightly larger body, a bigger buffer, 6fps is class leading at this price, even the HDR mode can now auto align it's shots unlike the K-x. AF assist light fitted too (though it does not come on as often as it should), live view AF is much faster too than the K-x

The K-r is an impressive camera and would be worthy of the attention of any DSLR buyer.
So why 1 star? Well read on...

Opinion: After a month and a half with the K-r and about 3000 shots, I may say that this camera is near perfect "for its class". Perfect here I mean very good IQ, well-balanced detail:noise at high ISO, ample of functions essential to photography and probably the best in price/performance today.

It's responsive with good ergonomics, good AF speed for its class and a surprisingly fast live-view AF. The button layout is easy to understand and the menu is intuitive. I didn't even need to use the user manual. The shake reduction works well. Flash exposure is good.

I haven't used the fun filters and video functions so no comment on those.

Overall, the K-r is a "photographer's camera".

*Should have included the AA battery cradle as standard equipment.

Opinion: I was looking for a SLR with video possibility. I looked for such devices for long time. Pentax k-x, k-r and Sony SLT A-33 were in my short list. My preset was on Pentax k-x before I go to buy it for budgetary reason. When I have used k-x, I have disappointed with the Live view auto focus speed. I have seen k-r nearby on the shelf and wanted to use it. Gosh it was flying with my click. I loved the magnifying rectangle on the screen during auto focus in live view. It fits to hand. The feel and look is very expensive while the price is relatively cheap to this class of camera. The auto focus speed is superb. The reasons of Pentax k-r in my short list were crisp image quality, HDR, High ISO, CMOS sensor. The back panel design is so simple and intuitively you start to use buttons. Menu structure is so simple for the most frequently used functions and it is displayed with very big characters in order to let you see the selections. I haven’t seen in many SLR cameras in this class about the filters that are provided within Pentax k-r. Pentax k-x had the same filter feature but definitely the processing speed of Pentax k-r is so fast compared to k-x. I have also bought an old second hand zoom lens from 1970s from Tokina. Unbelievably it works with Pentax k-r. Needless to say no auto focus with this lens, but it's ok till I replace it with a brand new lens. I'm so happy with the k-r decision instead of k-x or Sony. I have used Sony SLT A33 for 2 months or so. But the build quality and image quality is not comparable to Pentax k-r, although both cameras have similar ISO values, HDR, and continuous shooting values etc. The battery compartment of Pentax k-r has a chance to use 4 AA batteries with an adapter into the battery compartment. But adapter is not included in the package. I liked high ISO image quality. There is noise but as you all know it is normal. In spite of high ISO noise, the image is clear and recognizable.
Before I buy it, I was thinking that live view would be the one I will use mostly with this very large and quality screen of 920K dots. But I preferred to use the viewfinder. Continuous shooting is 6fps and it is super fast for the sports and action shots.

Opinion: There is some mistake on the site because I aworded the camera by 5 stars in previous review and the result does not correspond.

Opinion: I am very satisfied with the camera and 3 lenses - P 35/2,4; Sigma 17-80/2,8-4,5; P 50/1,7. Very responsible camera with exact AF I have had. IQ really natural. A little bit quiet than k-x. Maximum rating because of value for the money.

Opinion: I sold my Canon 350D and I wanted a camera to help me in my passion, the astrophotography. It's a nice camera (speaking about appearence), a good construction quality, I owned one. Unfortunatelly, I was forced to send it back and ask my money back. The front focus problems in artificial light was too annoying for me.
The sensor is capable in low light, although the noise artifacts are visible from 800 ISO. Pentax cheated more than other competitors at its RAWs, because they are soft, probably because of a noise reductions, meaning that RAWs don't seem to be totally RAWs. Good 6 fps rate for action shots, but the AF system (without tracking) don't help.
I believe that Kx is a better choice, despite the absence of some features.
Pentax must improve its public relations services, QC and, especially, his AF systems.

Opinion: I have owned an Olympus e-510, Canon 450d, Canon 40d, Nikon d90, Nikon d300, Nikon d700 and Canon 7d, so I've had a wide range of equipment from which to draw comparisons for this review. In short, I believe the Pentax K-r represents the best value on the market today, hands down. I was a bit disappointed at the low IQ scores dpreview assigned to the k-r in its review, as I've found it to rival the big boys in IQ, including the d700 and 7d. The small form factor is handy, because it's construction is very solid and feels much better-built than competitiors in its price range. The AF speed has been great, not quite 7d/d700 range, but better than any other camera within $500 of its price (although I hear the Sonys are as fast) and the continuous shooting speed of 6fps is ridiculous for the price. I've found the colors to be quite different than CanNikon's and at first, it took some getting used to. But I've come to realize that they're different because they're so much more accurate than other cameras I've used. Incredibly life-like colors, especially skin tones, which is crucial. The feature set is also very extensive, with high-end features and customization not normally found in this range. Lastly, the high-ISO IQ is, in my experience, only second (only just) to the d700. That means it's better than even the 7d. I don't shoot charts, I shoot subjects in the real world, and this camera creates easily captured top-notch images that better anything anywhere near its price class. One last thing that isn't adequately addressed in most reviews of Pentax: its backwards compatibility with 50+ years' worth of world-class Pentax lenses is second to none. I bought three manual lenses over 30 years old and I still get a focus confirmation beep with the K-r - amazing value. All three lenses together were less than $130. All this performance in a body I paid less than $550 for new. Pentax should receive waaay more press over here - Asian markets already know the value much better than we do, but having shot the Canikon equivalents, I can confidently recommend this camera and its lenses without reservation. If you don't have anunlimited camera budget (who does), then this should be your first consideration.